A. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of medicine, and specifically to that area of medicine involving providing identification and medical information together with a dose of a medication for emergency use by or for a patient.
B. Description of the Prior Art
Almost as far back in history since medications have been manufactured in tablet form, various flat packages have been devised to contain them. Thus, the 1877 U.S. Pat. No. 364,623 to Beidler disclosed a medicine package for tablets or powders which comprised a card having perforations to receive and hold tablets "in connection with suitable covers". In this patent it is pointed out that the inventor prefers to arrange the cards or sheets in the form of a book with fly leaves interposed between the cards to prevent adhesion of the articles and to receive printed or written instructions for their administration.
Other containers for medications are disclosed in the patents to Lavigne, U.S. Pat. No. 1,453,015; Kipper U.S. Pat. No. 1,900,606; Johnson, U.S. Pat. No. 1,984,351; Mosby, U.S. Pat. No. 2,049,921; Berg, U.S. Pat. No. 2,057,180; Kidwell, U.S. Pat. No. 2,965,222; Greif et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,305,077; and Meyers, U.S. Pat. No. 3,347,358. In some of these patents, for example, those to Meyers, Kidwell, and Greif, there is provided on the container package or sheets certain information relating to the administration of the medication.
In the more recently issued patent to Yannuzzi, U.S. Pat. No. 3,402,808, an elaborate wrist band device or locket is disclosed which device comprises an alarm, a recepticle for a medication, and a further recepticle compartment for medical information concerning the patient.
In addition to the Yannuzzi, other patents have disclosed medical history packet folders for personal medical information identification cards. Thus, for example, see the Canadian Patent No. 702,905, issued Feb. 2, 1965; and the Australian Patent No. 282,784 lodged Dec. 12, 1963.
Despite the existence for many years of all of these various prior art devices, none of them, either alone or in combination, has been developed to provide personal patient information with an emergency medication dosage in a form which could be readily and conviently carried by a patient in his pocket or around his neck at all times. Apparently the prior art devices have either been difficult and costly to fabricate, failed to have provided the needed information, or failed adequately to provide the necessary medication --this, despite the great need for some such informational package device, particularly by diabetics, who number in the millions in the United States alone.